


the hunger

by prittyspeshul



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Canon Compliant, Introspection, Other, Stream of Consciousness, ages unclear but gloria is def over 18 in this, leon/gloria if you squint like really hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27131035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prittyspeshul/pseuds/prittyspeshul
Summary: i've always been a hunter, nothing on my tail--but there was something in you, i knew, could make that change.Leon watches Gloria complete the Gym Challenge.
Relationships: Dande | Leon & Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	the hunger

_ To capture a predator _

_ You can't remain the prey _

_ You have to become an equal _

_ In every way _

Leon knew exactly when he realized Gloria was going to be a great Trainer: it was the moment she beat Hop, in their first battle, and she smiled at him, gracious, magnanimous, but there was a flash in her eyes, a deep well that looked hungry, for just a moment.

That was the same moment he realized she was going to be a threat.

Gloria devoured the Gym Challenge wholesale, decimating every leader and claiming badges in record time; she set a blistering pace that the remaining finalists had to sprint to maintain, limping into the brackets winded and desperate. But her, she waited, serene, and it was never a question who he was going to face in the Championship match.

It didn’t matter who she faced, what was thrown at her: the pins were barely lined up before she knocked them down, one deliberate blow at a time.

She beat Hop, again, and she smiled at him, again, but the hunger wasn’t hidden now. It wasn’t that she was malicious in her intent--she was anything but, managing to make every person she defeated feel like it mattered--but it was clear that there was something driving her that no one could stand before.

Watching her battle Raihan, toying with him like a Liepard might a particularly tenacious Minccino, something in him recognized the inferno burning in her, and Leon realized he was afraid.

They faced each other, finally, and the world split open; a madman sent a dragon screaming into the sky and plunged the world into night--

They both dove headlong into that darkness, and only she rose from it.

When he awoke in the hospital, head swimming and entire body aching, she was asleep next to his bed, her fingers tangled with his and a new pokeball pressed between their palms, and he felt a bittersweet ache rise in his chest because he knew he had already lost, in so many ways.

They faced each other again, a few days later, somehow only a few days but so many things had changed. She had the dragon on her side, reams and reams of power at her fingertips, but he knew she wouldn’t need to use it. 

He was right, and this time only his world split open.

_ Do you feel the hunger _

_ Does it howl inside? _

_ Does it terrify you? _

_ Or do you feel alive? _

**Author's Note:**

> I'm dipping my toes into the Pokemon fandom for the first time ever. 
> 
> Song is "Become the Beast" by Karliene.


End file.
